The present invention relates to an apparatus for wrapping confectionery products and the like, in particular candies.
Wrapping machines are currently known which automatically wrap confectionery products. In particular, wrapping machines are known which comprise a device for feeding the products to be wrapped and a wrapping head with pincers, positioned above the feeding device, rotating according to a horizontal axis for bring the aforesaid products, together with a respective piece of material in sheet form, in correspondence with a series of operative stations, in turn located above the feeding devices.
The feeding device is constituted for instance by a disk rotating about a vertical axis. The individual products to be wrapped are provided to respective recesses, distributed along the periphery of the feeding disk. The products fed by means of the disk device are transferred upwards in succession from the related recesses into one of the pincers of the wrapping head which envelops and encloses around them the respective piece of material in sheet form.
The transfer of the products from the feeding device to the wrapping head is effected, in a related operative station, by an extractor organ which is able to co-operate with a device for dispensing the aforementioned piece of material in sheet form. In an active stroke, the extractor organ engages the feeding device so as to draw the product to be wrapped and transfer it, together with the related piece of material in sheet form, to a corresponding set of pincers of the wrapping head; whereas in the return stroke the extractor organ does not interfere with the feeding disk, leaving it free to rotate to bring a new product to the transfer station.
Known wrapping machines are generally bulky and complex and often have limited productivity.
In the specific case of products of the candy type, moreover, wrapping with the related wrapping sheet is difficult or imprecise, or in any case not very flexible, due to the difficulty in correctly manipulating the candies. It should be noted that the candies are usually gripped by the pincers of the wrapping head in correspondence with the flanks, i.e. on the narrowest part, with obvious grip difficulties especially for products with particular shapes, for instance lenticular.
Another problem encountered in machines for wrapping the aforementioned products is constituted by the difficulty of assuring the environmental hygiene necessary to the products themselves, for instance due to the leakage of noxious substances (in particular lubricating oil and the like) from moving organs, which generally are positioned above the feeding disks.
The task of the present invention is to solve the aforementioned problems, devising an apparatus for wrapping confectionery products, in particular candies and the like, designed in such a way as to effect the enveloping of the products in optimal fashion, assuring complete environmental hygiene and giving the various organs the time required to perform their functions appropriately, to the advantage of productivity.
Within the scope of this task, a further aim of the present invention is to make available an apparatus for wrapping products of the aforementioned kind which presents a high simplicity and economy of construction, and which offers the guarantee of a certainly reliable operation and a versatile employment, in particular facilitating format changes.
This task and this aim are both achieved, according to the invention, by the present apparatus for wrapping confectionery products and the like, comprising a device for feeding the products to be wrapped, an organ for extracting said product from said feeding device able to co-operate with a device for dispensing a piece of material in sheet form, a wrapping head with pincers, rotating according to a horizontal axis to bring said products with a respective piece of material in sheet form in correspondence with a series of operative stations, wherein said feeding device comprises a circular disk, positioned horizontal and rotating about a vertical axis, which presents, peripherally distributed, a series of recesses for receiving respective products, open outwards, each provided, in correspondence with the lower surface of said disk and posteriorly thereto, with a related slit; and an annulus, fastened to the structure of the apparatus, positioned below said rotating disk for supporting said products introduced into said recesses, able partially to hide said slit of said recesses during the feeding phase and so shaped as to distance itself from the rotating disk, in correspondence with a station for transferring the individual products to be wrapped to the wrapping head, to render visible said slit during the transfer phase and allow means for thrusting said extractor organ to transit through it.